Partners For Life
by JennieRyan
Summary: Jennie and Crutchie must navigate the first few months of parenthood together, even if it's a little unconventional.


**A/N: Apologies for the long period of time in between updates to this series, I always forget to post my works on here. This is the 6th story in my Crutchie and Jennie series, and I hope all of you enjoy it.**

_January 1907_

Crutchie woke to the sound of his daughter shrieking, as he did most mornings now. He slowly sat up, intending to go and quiet her, only to find that the other side of the bed was empty. Jennie had beat him to it.

"Go back to sleep, Charlie. I'll take care of this," Jennie called to him from where she was standing on the other side of the room. Her and Crutchie's apartment only had one bedroom, so Faith slept in the same room as them. It was a blessing and a curse; they could always hear her crying, but they always woke up the instant she made any kind of loud noise.

"You sure? Don' wanna leave all the work to you," Crutchie asked, blinking blearily as he struggled to stay awake.

"I'm sure. It's almost morning, anyway. Go back to sleep for a couple of hours, and I'll feed Faith and make breakfast."

"Okay… if you'se sure…" Crutchie murmured as he lay back down and let sleep claim him once again.

"Sleep well, Charlie," Jennie whispered, before turning her attention to comforting Faith.

**_-Break-_**

When Crutchie woke up again Faith was asleep and he could smell something burning. He sat straight up in bed as he realized it was coming from the kitchen, and he quickly grabbed his crutch and hurried to see what was going on.

The scene which met Crutchie's eyes might have made him laugh if clouds of smoke hadn't been filling the apartment, it was almost comical. Jennie had somehow dozed off while standing at the stove, her head bent towards her chest and her hand still clutching the spoon she had been using to stir what Crutchie thought was a pot of oatmeal.

"Jennie!" Crutchie exclaimed, startling her awake. Her eyes widened as she saw the scene in front of her.

"Oh my… I'm so sorry, Charlie!" she cried, quickly taking the pot off the stove and stirring it frantically as if that might make it more edible. "I… I don't know what happened…"

"Hey, it's okay," Crutchie soothed. "I'm just glad you'se okay." He gently took the pot and spoon from Jennie as he said this and set them in the sink. "Now, how about you sit down an' rest for a minute, an' I'll finish breakfast."

Jennie nodded, still looking wide-eyed and slightly pale after her experience. "Okay."

**_-Break-_**

By the time Crutchie had finished breakfast (scrambled eggs and toast this time) Jennie had fallen asleep at the table, her head resting on her hand. Crutchie regarded this scene with a loving but worried smile as he set the food down on the table. He had known Jennie was tired, and heaven knew he was tired too, but he hadn't thought she was this exhausted. Still, it made sense when he thought about it. Jennie was always running around taking care of Faith, even when he offered to help. Crutchie had felt uneasy about this, but he had let it slide. Now he could see that that had been a bad idea.

As if on cue, the sound of Faith shrieking suddenly reverberated through the apartment. Jennie's eyes snapped open and she began to stand, but Crutchie placed his hand gently but firmly on her shoulder to stop her. "I got this. You eat."

Jennie looked over at the plates of food in surprise, noticing them for the first time. She blinked slowly, then nodded and reached for one of the plates. Crutchie smiled, satisfied that at least Jennie was getting something to eat, then hurried to go look after Faith.

**_-Break-_**

When Faith had at last quieted down (after Crutchie sang her a lullaby he remembered his mother singing to him when he was little), Crutchie returned to the kitchen to check on Jennie. She had finished breakfast but was now staring at the wall, her expression vacant. Crutchie sighed and took a seat next to her.

"Jennie. Jennie please look at me, darlin'."

Jennie's gaze slowly shifted towards Crutchie, and they locked eyes. Jennie stared at him a moment, then leaned towards him. Crutchie wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly and rubbing her back soothingly and gently.

"I'm just so _tired_, Charlie," Jennie whispered, her voice catching slightly. "I… I just want to sleep forever. But I need to look after Faith, and-"

"Shhh," Crutchie softly hushed Jennie. "Don' worry about that right now."

Jennie slowly pulled away from Crutchie. "How can I not? She's my daughter, Charlie! I need to look after her."

"_Our _daughter, Jennie. There's two of us, remember? We have to do this together," Crutchie said.

"But… aren't I supposed to do all of it? I mean, I love my father very much but he didn't change me or my sister's diapers or cook for us," Jennie protested. "That's what's normal."

"Well I don't know about you, but I for one ain't too concerned about bein' normal." Crutchie smiled warmly. "This is a partnership, Jennie Morris, an' to hell with what anyone else thinks."

Jennie smiled back. "Thank you, Charlie." She hesitated, then looked down at her lap. "I haven't included you very much lately, have I?"

"No," Crutchie admitted. "But it ain't your fault. An' it stops now." His tone was firm.

"Oh?"

"You can go stay with your parents for the rest of the weekend. I'll send 'em a message so they know, but they won't mind I don't think," Crutchie said. "While you'se there you can have a break from all of this for a couple days an' hopefully get some sleep."

"But what about you and Faith?" Jennie asked worriedly. "Will you be alright for that long?"

"It's only a couple days, we'll be fine. If I can go on strike, I can look after a baby by myself," Crutchie said reassuringly. "You still got that book about makin' baby formula, right?"

"Yes, it's on the bookshelf in the parlor." Jennie nodded, finally beginning to be convinced. "Well… if you're sure. And it's only for two days."

"I'se sure, Jennie. Promise," Crutchie said, slowly standing and offering Jennie his hand. "Now come on, I'll help ya pack a bag."

**_-Break-_**

"I'm home!" Jennie called as she stepped into the apartment early on Monday morning, closing the door behind her and setting her bag down.

"In here!" Crutchie called back from the bedroom.

When Jennie entered the room Crutchie was sitting on the edge on the bed, holding Faith in his arms while she drank from a bottle. He was already dressed in his work clothes, with a towel thrown over his shoulder. Jennie smiled, wishing she could take a photograph of the perfect scene in front of her.

"Hey," Crutchie said softly, smiling up at Jennie as Faith finished. "Back so soon?"

"I couldn't stay away a minute longer," Jennie explained. "And besides, you have to go to work soon."

Crutchie nodded. He looked Jennie up and down, noting how the sparkle had returned to her eyes and she stood taller. "Ya look a lot better."

"I am," Jennie said. "My poor parents, I barely spoke to them the entire time I slept so much. But I feel much better now. So… thank you."

"'Course, Jennie. Anythin' to make things easier for you." Crutchie set the bottle aside and slowly stood, balancing his weight on his good leg. He held Faith out to Jennie. "Wanna take over now?"

"You don't even have to ask," Jennie said, carefully taking Faith in her arms and smiling down at her. "Hello, my little one. I missed you so much."

Crutchie smiled, walking around so that he was standing behind Jennie and looking over her shoulder at Faith. "She's glad to have you back, ya know." He pressed a soft kiss to Jennie's temple. "An' so am I."

"I'm glad to be back," Jennie replied. "And I'll try to let you do more, I promise. This is a partnership, just like you said."

"Partners." Crutchie nodded in agreement. "Always."

**A/N: A brief historical note, baby formula had been invented by this time but from what I read it wasn't very popular (or particularly nutritious). However, Thomas Morgan Rotch published his "percentage method" for how to make formula for babies using cow's milk, water, cream, and sugar in 1890 and it had become popular by the time this story takes place. I have no idea how good of a replacement those mixtures were for actual human milk from a nutritional standpoint, but since Jennie was only gone for two days I think Faith would have been fine.**

**Please leave reviews on this story, and tell me what you thought of it! I hope to have the next story in this series up soon.**


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